Amusing Monday: Smiling faces sometimes

Apparently, the human brain is hard-wired to see faces with
minimal clues. Isn’t it remarkable how a circle with a couple dots
for eyes — simple geometric figures — can be viewed as a human
face?

The ability to recognizes faces within a split second may have
developed as an evolutionary advantage. The ability to distinguish
friend from foe by a facial expression could have meant the
difference between life or death. At least that was the hypothesis
advanced by Carl Sagan and others, according to Wikipedia.

The same article goes on to talk about studies on this effect,
called pareidolia. Brain waves were measured as human subjects were
shown various objects. When they perceived a face in an object,
researchers found activity taking place in a primitive part of the
brain.

I hope this explanation doesn’t take away from the amusement of
seeing faces in all kinds of things. I’ve collected a few
water-related objects for you to consider — faucets, fire hydrants
and such — followed by three websites that specialize in showing
photographs of all kinds of objects that look like faces.

It’s probably part of that human brain thing, but it is hard to
look at any of the face-related objects and not assign an emotion
to the face that’s looking back.

By the way, while I was writing this, the song “Smiling Faces
Sometimes” kept going through my head. The title for this blog
entry was taken from a 1971 hit by the Undisputed Truth. Called
“Smiling Faces
Sometimes,” It talks about the potential emotional dangers that
may be hidden by a smile.